Like I mentioned last week, I had a race this past weekend! This was my first time doing this race so I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Thankfully it was practically in our backyard so we were able to drive a majority of the course when we picked up our packets.
Night before Race
Morning of the Race
We parked and walked up to get our timing chips and get body marked. Then we unloaded our bikes and made our way to transition. It was open racking meaning there weren't assigned spots. We were supposed to find a spot on the rack that matched our swim cap color. This was slightly confusing for me as I am used to finding my number and racking up there. It wasn't a problem since we got there right when transition opened. Or I should say it didn't start out to be a problem.
I went on getting everything laid out, until the bike rack my bike was on started bowing, with only about 15 mins before transition was supposed to close. We looked around and other racks where at their breaking out too. Thankfully everyone worked together and made it work. We just moved our bikes to the fence which is usually not allowed, but they didn't have a choice that close to race start time. |
First up: Swim
If there was one part that scared me about the race it was the swim. It was a true open water and further than any distance I had swam in a race. I knew that freaking out was only gonna hurt me in the swim so I went in with my wave and just focused on staying calm. It defiantly wasn't an easy swim but my time was 17:25. 8 seconds more than my 400 M swim I did in June. And it was longer. I was pretty pleased that I not only made it through the swim, but also did it faster than I had previously!
Next: Bike
This was my first race with clips. They take some time to get used to. Running in them from transition to the bike mount area and then getting off the bike and into transition. Luckily transition was grass which is more giving to run in clips than cement is. The course did have a few decent size climbs, but I focused on keeping my heels down and hydrating. Right after I got on I took some Honey Stinger Vanilla Gel. I knew my mom would be passing me at some point on the bike since she is faster, it was just a matter of when. I wasn't wearing my Garmin at the time so I had no idea what mile it was at. I was kinda surprised that the course didn't have any mile markers on it.
Last: Run
Nothing of great detail to share here. Part was in shade and part was in the sun and it was sure hot. I kept thinking if I pushed it hard enough I would be able to catch my mom, but I didn't see her on the run.
Final Thoughts
I was surprised to find my mom right in front of me after I crossed the line. This meant we finished about the same time even though we didn't start the swim at the same time. I love that my mom is up for a race with me (well most of the time, she wasn't too excited about this swim). We missed having dad with us, but we sent him our times and made sure to fill him in. Thanks for listening! |